Crime & Safety
Point Pleasant Beach Fire Chief: We Need Generator
Fire officials and others have asked for additional help with fire safety since a blaze ripped through the Mariners Cove Motor Inn in March, killing four people.
Written by Elizabeth Q. Herlihy
Point Pleasant Beach Fire Chief A.J .Fox urged the borough Tuesday to prepare for potential storms and move forward with securing a fire department generator.
During council's Tuesday meeting, Fox said the department has waited upwards to six years for the installation, and remains the last building in the municipality without a generator.
Find out what's happening in Point Pleasantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Administrator Christine Riehl assured that the process is “moving.” According to Riehl, a $60,000 bond ordinance for the generator has been passed and the borough is currently getting prices on different installations.
Fire officials and others have asked for additional help with fire safety since a blaze ripped through the Mariners Cove Motor Inn in March, killing four people.
Find out what's happening in Point Pleasantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Also a request of the Fire Department are the implementation of Knox-Boxes. Councilman Bret Gordon explained that the program gives emergency responders, including firefighters and police officers, the ability to enter a business in case of emergency without having to break a window or bust down a door.
Through the Knox-Box service, which is already practiced in Point Borough and Bay Head, business owners can purchase a box that contains a key to their establishment and keep the box in a safe location for personnel to access the key and enter the building in case of emergency.
Fox and Gordon agreed that the optional program would help business owners and the borough save money.
Point Pleasant Beach also plans to spend $695 a month on "safety coordinator services." The services, Riehl explained, will be conducted by a former Occupational Safety and Heath Administration (OSHA) employee and will ensure that the municipality is compliant with workplace safety regulations.
Riehl said the coordinator will be an asset to the borough and will lower the risk of health and safety hazards in Point Beach work environments.
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